POMPEO IN TURKEY: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Ankara today with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who claims to have convincing evidence that missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi was tortured, murdered and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate by a Saudi hit team Oct 2. Pompeo flew to Turkey from Riyadh, where he met with King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who Pompeo said assured him that there would be “no exceptions” to who would be held accountable after a “thorough, complete investigation,” even if a member of the royal family was implicated. “My assessment from these meetings is that there is serious commitment to determine all the facts and ensure accountability, including accountability for Saudi Arabia’s senior leaders or senior officials,” said Pompeo in a statement released in Washington. “During each of today’s meetings the Saudi leadership strongly denied any knowledge of what took place in their consulate in Istanbul.” ‘BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN’: In two separate interviews, President Trump indicated who knew what and when would be a big factor in how the U.S. responds. “It depends whether the king or the crown prince knew about it, in my opinion,” Trump told Fox Business Network. “If they knew about it, that would be bad. If they didn’t know, things, bad things can happen.” In an interview with the Associated Press, Trump compared the mounting evidence against the Saudi government to what he felt were false accusations against his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. “Well, I think we have to find out what happened first. You know, here we go again with, you know, you’re guilty until proven innocent. I don’t like that. We just went through that with Justice Kavanaugh. And he was innocent all the way.” CUT OFF THEIR ARMS? “Saudi Arabia’s our partner, our ally against Iran and against missiles, and against what they are doing trying to take over the Middle East,” Trump said in his Fox interview, and he said the Saudis have made “the largest order in the history of our country” for weapons, including missile systems and ships. “Aren’t we just hurting our own country? ‘Cause here’s what’s going to happen, they’re going to say ‘Hey, America won’t sell us the missiles, we’ll buy them from China or buy them from Russia.’” But the mood in Congress is turning against Saudi Arabia, even among some of the kingdom’s staunchest defenders in the past. Sen. Lindsey Graham says he’s ready to “sanction the hell” out of the country, and that the crown prince, who goes by MBS, is a “wrecking ball” who has to go. “Saudi Arabia, if you’re listening, there are a lot of good people you can choose, but MBS has tainted your country and tainted himself,” Graham said on “Fox and Friends” yesterday. “You know, we deal with bad people all the time. But this is in our face. I feel personally offended. They have nothing but contempt for us.” Also on Fox, Sen. Rand Paul, a longtime Saudi critic, said he’s been pressing Trump to halt the weapons sales. “I did speak to the president this weekend. And I told him that we need to cut off arms to Saudi Arabia,” Paul told Neil Cavuto. “I try to use any powers of persuasion I have to let him know they are not our friends. “It’s important to remember that Saudi Arabia is the largest state sponsor of radical Islam. They fund tens of thousands of madrasas around the world, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Philippines, all teaching hatred of America,” Paul said. “They have been doing this for decades. They are not our friends.” TURKEY HAS A TAPE: A pro-government Turkish newspaper has published a chilling account purporting to show how Khashoggi was tortured before his alleged death at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. The Yeni Safak newspaper report cited an audio recording of Khashoggi’s death, saying that on the tape Saudi Consul General Mohammed al-Otaibi could be heard telling those allegedly torturing Khashoggi: “Do this outside; you’re going to get me in trouble,” according to the AP. The newspaper said one of the Saudis torturing Khashoggi replied: “Shut up if you want to live when you return to [Saudi] Arabia.” Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter @dailyondefense. |
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BASE EXPORT PLAN: Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, on Tuesday criticized a Trump administration proposal to use West Coast military sites to export coal and natural gas, saying doing so would harm national security. “This is a clear attempt to circumvent environmental oversight and protections,” Smith said. “The Trump administration is once again using national security as an excuse to drive their short-sighted agenda. Turning our military bases into export terminals could be an encroachment risk and potentially harm military training, operations, and readiness.” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Monday that the Trump administration is considering using military installations along the coasts to export coal and natural gas. IN OTHER WARS: For the past few months, the military has been consistently talking about the beginning of the end of ISIS in Syria. Surrounded in a small part of eastern Syria, the remnants of the once mighty self-declared caliphate was said to be on the run, and increasingly desperate. Their final defeat delivered by U.S.-backed Syrian fighters was said to be close at hand. But in yesterday’s Pentagon briefing, Col. Sean Ryan, the chief spokesman for the U.S.-led counter-ISIS coalition, admitted the last of the fighters are turning out to be a tenacious and ruthless foe, willing to fight to the death. “They’re a resilient enemy. There’s no doubt about that,” Ryan said. “The remaining fighters … are hardened combatants and have shown every indication of being willing to fight until the end.” Ryan said Islamic State fighters trapped in Syria are putting up fierce resistance, using civilians as human shields, setting deadly booby traps, and hiding in underground tunnels, frustrating the coalition. Asked by a reporter if it looked as though the offensive, which was expected to last a few months, would extend into next year, Ryan said, “We’ve still got about three months to go, and a lot can happen in 2018.” WHILE YOU WEREN’T WATCHING: In Somalia, where the U.S. is waging a low-profile but increasingly deadly war against al-Shabaab, U.S. Africa Command revealed that last week an airstrike killed about 60 members of the terrorist group. It was the largest estimated enemy casualties of any U.S. strike in the African country since about 100 fighters were reported killed in November, according to the command. “We also currently assess this airstrike did not injure or kill any civilians,” AFRICOM said. This was third “defensive” strike conducted by U.S. forces in Somalia in the past month, according the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies’ “Long War Journal,” which has produced a map graphic that shows the U.S. conducted 27 strikes against Shabaab in 2018 and is on pace to eclipse last year’s total of 31 strikes. CRASH IN UKRAINE: A U.S. service member was in the back seat of an Su-27UB fighter jet that crashed in Ukraine on Tuesday, according to a U.S. military statement. The aircraft was taking part in Exercise Clear Sky in the Khmelnytsky region when the crash occurred. The statement from U.S. Air Forces in Europe did not specify if either the pilot or passenger survived. HARROWING DETAILS OF THUNDERBIRD’S DEATH: A pilot with the Air Force’s Thunderbirds demonstration squadron was killed in April after going unconscious due to undergoing 8 Gs of force from his jet, the service said in a review of the incident released Tuesday. Maj. Stephen Del Bagno was performing a descending half-loop maneuver in his F-16 during routine practice over the Nevada Test and Training range when the incident occurred. Del Bagno was unconscious for approximately five seconds as the jet careened thousands of feet toward the ground and so he made no attempt to eject, the review found. About one second before impact, he slightly regained consciousness and attempted to right the F-16 but it slammed into the ground. The Air Force determined his unconsciousness due to the strong gravitational pull was the primary cause of the crash. SANCTIONING IRAN’S SUPPORT FOR CHILD SOLDIERS: The Trump administration announced yesterday that the Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on at least 20 corporations and financial institutions connected to the Basij Resistance Force. The Basij is a paramilitary force founded by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 and it is subordinate to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the Treasury designated as a terrorist entity in 2017. The group has branches in every province and state in Iran. The Basij is heavily involved in the recruitment, training and deployment of child soldiers to carry out the IRGC’s bidding in the region. THE RUNDOWN Washington Examiner: Trump threatens to end aid to 3 countries if citizens enter US illegally The Hill: Joint Chiefs chairman to meet with Saudi counterpart AP: US defense secretary sees the enduring costs of Vietnam War BuzzFeed: American Mercenaries Were Hired To Assassinate Politicians In The Middle East Bloomberg: Lockheed’s $29 Billion Helicopter Running Short of a Needed Part Defense One: If Iran Never Leaves Syria, Will America Stay Forever? Military Times: US has limited contact, oversight of Afghan troops and the gear they’ve been given Daily Beast: Trump’s Blank Check to Tyrants Endangers Rights Advocates in Russia and Beyond Foreign Policy: Pentagon Criticized for ‘Spray and Pray’ Approach to Innovation New York Times: Saudis Issued Dire Warnings Against U.S. Sanctions. But How Much Leverage Do They Have? Reuters: U.S., Saudi Arabia have leverage on each other; using it has costs |
CalendarWEDNESDAY | OCT. 17 7:15 a.m. 7950 Jones Branch Dr. Asymmetric Threat Symposium XI: Solutions and Innovations for Defeating Asymmetric Threats with Lt. Gen. VeraLinn “Dash” Jamieson, Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Lt. Gen. David Thompson, Vice Commander of Air Force Space Command; and others. asymmetricthreat.net 8:30 a.m. 2401 M St. NW. Defense Writers Group Breakfast with Sen. Jack Reed. 9 a.m. 100 Westgate Circle. 23rd Annual Expeditionary Warfare Conference. ndia.org 9 a.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Evolving Iranian Strategy in Syria: A Looming Conflict with Israel. atlanticcouncil.org 9 a.m. Cannon 122. Book Discussion of The Hell of Good Intentions with Author Stephen Walt. defensepriorities.org 12 noon. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Book Discussion of The Hell of Good Intentions: America’s Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy with Author Stephen Walt. cato.org 2 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Book Launch of The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities with Author John Mearsheimer. csis.org 5:30 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Free Speech and National Security. csis.org THURSDAY | OCT. 18 7 a.m. 100 Westgate Circle. 23rd Annual Expeditionary Warfare Conference. ndia.org 8:30 a.m. 929 Long Bridge Drive, Arlington, Va. AIA/NDIA Technical Data Rights Forum. ndia.org 9 a.m. 1030 15th St. N.W. Championing the Frontlines of Freedom: Erasing the “Grey Zone.” atlanticcouncil.org 9 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. How will values shape U.S.-China competition? brookings.edu Noon. 1030 15th St. N.W. The Role of Advanced Energy in National Security and a Resilient Grid. atlanticcouncil.org 2 p.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Restraining Great Powers: Soft Balancing From Empires to the Global Era. carnegieendowment.org FRIDAY | OCT. 19 10 a.m. All Geopolitics is Local: How States are Responding to Cyber Threats in the Digital Age with Col. Kenneth Donnelly, Louisiana National Guard, and Maj. Gen. Michael Stone, Michigan Army National Guard. wilsoncenter.org MONDAY | OCT. 22 4 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. An Evening of Naval History with Ian Toll and an Award Presentation by Adm. John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations. usni.org TUESDAY | OCT. 23 7 a.m. 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd. Precision Strike Technology Symposium with Vice Adm. Mat Winter, Director of the Joint Strike Fighter Program; Gen. Mike Murray, Commander of Army Futures Command; and Sen. Lisa Murkowski. ndia.org 7:15 a.m. 1700 Army Navy Dr. NDIA Washington, D.C. Chapter Defense Leaders Forum Breakfast. ndia.org 8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. S&ET Division Executive Breakfast. ndia.org 1 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Who cares? Foreign Policy and the 2018 Midterm Elections. aei.org 5:30 p.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd. ILW Landpower Education Forum. ausa.org WEDNESDAY | OCT. 24 7 a.m. 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd. Precision Strike Technology Symposium with Steve Walker, Director of DARPA. ndia.org 9 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Arab Horizons: Is A New Regional Order Possible? carnegieendowment.org 12:30 p.m. Defense Manufacturing as a Means of Localization in MENA with Tom Kelly is the Vice President of Foreign Policy and National Security Affairs at Raytheon. sais-jhu.edu 1 p.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW. China’s Ballistic Missile Submarines and Strategic Stability. carnegieendowment.org |
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